Horrible vibration! - What are the possible causes?

During the winter months I put my stock rims/tires on my DC TRD Sport. I just put my Moto Metal 951's with Nitto Terra Grapplers back on and I have a huge vibration in the front end that starts around 40 mph and continues up to about 55. It seems to go away around 60 or so. I can't determine if it a bad wheel, a bad tire or what. It is shaking the steering wheel really bad. I had a small vibration last year before I took them off for the snow, but this year it is MUCH worse! My truck is a 2007 and only has 35K miles on it.

A couple questions that maybe some of you guys can help me with. First, does putting these wheel/tire combo on my truck void my drive train warranty? I thought that a dealer should take a look first, but don't want to give my truck to them if it isn't covered under my warranty.

Second, where should I look for possible causes first? I love the way my truck looks with the rims/tires and hate to lose them but I simply can't drive it in this condition.

Anyone experience this that could give some suggestions it is greatly appreciated.


Michael

 

It shouldn't automatically void your warranty- If they can prove that the tires caused some other problem...Then you might have a fight on your hands.

Balance then alignment- I'm leaning more towards balance. Does the vibration feel like it comes from a left or right, front or back?? All over??

 

wheel bearings. tie rod ends. tire psi. balance etc. no your warranty should not be void

 

It is hard to say, but it feels like the front right to me. I am going to take my truck to a local shop in the morning and get the oil changed. Maybe I will ask them to check it out. I wish it is as simple as a tire balance issue. I actually thought it might be a broken belt in my tire, it feels that weird.

 

Get them balanced. In the mean time you can take a look at them and see if there are any spots that look like a wheel weight may have fallen off. If you had a slipped belt it usually turns into a large bulge on the tire pretty quickly. At that point it feels like one corner of the truck is lifting up every time your tire rotates. That's something that typically doesn't go away at any speed and is VERY noticeable as soon as you start moving.

 

Are the rims Lug centric? I think I have this same problem I have been looking for hub centric rings but haven't found them yet. When I first bought the truck it had problems with steering wheel shaking at 45-55ish, balanced replaced tires nothing seemed to be working, then I took the wheels off and put them back on ensuring that the lugs were centered in the holes and that seemed to take care of the problem. But I am still looking for the correct rings for my rims.

 

Oh yeah... they're aftermarket. If you don't have a centering ring it's gonna shake like hell. Also, if the back of the wheel is flat and you still have the rotor retainer clips on then the wheel doesn't sit flush. I don't remember if Tacos have those retainers or not. Only had the wheel off once to change a flat. Wasn't paying too much attention.

 

it might be the 951 because i have them and have this same issue. it also shakes the truck not just the steering wheel. i might look into new rims

 

First, I would check to see if maybe a balance weight fell off one of the wheels. Sometimes this can happen. You may be able to see a bit of an imprint, or silhouette of where it was clipped on (if it fell off). I'm thinking "balancing is the culprit too.

 

make sure all your lugs are on and tight. me and my dad were taking a roadtrip to vegas and had the same exact issue. when we were going low speeds the vibration was terrible but once we got up to around 65 it would go away. sure enough when we hit 70 the back of the truck dropped and the wheel rolled past us. not just the tire the entire wheel. here's a pic.

 

Great ideas from everyone. The popular choice so far is wheel balance. I think that is the easiest place to start. Then when re-installing the wheels check to make sure that the wheel is centered on the hub.

 

I just got back from work after picking up my truck from my local shop. Apparently when 4 Wheel Parts say that they balanced the rims, they were slightly mistaken. Sure there were weights on the rims but they weren't balanced! I payed $32.00 to have the properly balanced and most of the vibration went away. There is only a very small vibration which is probably just tire noise through the steering wheel.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.